Keeping your sanity when the airline loses your luggage
By Dana Dratch • Bankrate.com

Having an airline lose your luggage is a lot like getting stood up on a date. Sure, you'll survive, but you won't be happy.

The good news: Most missing bags show up within a few hours.

"The vast majority of bags are not lost," says travel writer Edward Hasbrouck. "They are temporarily misplaced. The overall majority will turn up shortly, generally in good order."

With that in mind, get yourself quickly to the lost-baggage counter. "Don't dawdle," says David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association.

On a good day, the airline may have already located it. If they haven't, you'll get a lot further "if you speak more from sorry than from anger," says Stempler. "Agents are so used to being yelled at."

In most cases, the bags got tossed onto a later flight, so they should catch up to you within a few hours. If that's the case, tell the claim handlers where you want them delivered. Be specific (name of hotel, phone number if possible), and give them numbers where they can reach you as well (cell or home number with an answering machine that you'll check.)

Get the names of the airline personnel you speak with every time, says Susan Foster, author of "Smart Packing for Today's Traveler." "That way, you can say, 'Yesterday, when I talked to George, he said ....'"

In any event, you get to fill out one of those infamous lost-luggage claim forms. Remember: That sleek black tote you're so proud of looks like a thousand others.

Sometimes the bag itself is destroyed and all the airline is left with is a pile of possessions. The more specific you can be in describing your suitcase and its contents (tell them about that SpongeBob tie), the better chance you have of getting back your things.

Make sure you get a copy of anything you fill out for the airline, just in case you eventually do have to file a reimbursement claim. Remember those baggage claim checks you've been hanging onto? Here's where they come in handy. But don't fork over the originals without keeping at least a photocopy of them, says Foster. "In essence, it's the receipt the airline gave you when they accepted your bag," she says.

And yes, you'll get that 1-800 number to check in on your bag's progress. How often to call? The airline should give you some idea.

"Bugging them will get you, generally speaking, nowhere," says Hasbrouck. "It's really kind of pointless to be calling them every hour."

But frequent and detailed contact is important, says Stempler. "There have been occasions where the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. The bag is sent out for delivery and you've come to the airport. Coordinate as best you can and have them put as many notes in the computer as possible."

When the bag is found, ask the airline to deliver it to your home or hotel, says Alexander Anolik, a San Francisco travel attorney and co-author of "Traveler's Rights: Your Legal Guide to Fair Treatment and Full Value." "Why should you go back to the airport?" he says.